Catholic Church Insurance accused of dictating church policy on abuse

The Royal Commission into Child Sexual Abuse is taking submissions into the Catholic Church's Towards Healing protocols which were introduced in 1996 to deal with abuse committed by clergy.

Transcript

TONY JONES, PRESENTER: The Royal Commission into child sexual abuse is taking submissions into the Catholic Church's Towards Healing protocols, introduced in 1996 to deal with abuse committed by clergy.

The protocols are meant to be driven by pastoral concerns dealing with the pain of victims through a Christian response.

But tonight for the first time a consultant to the committee has spoken out, saying the Church's insurance company had too much influence on the response and that a senior official from the company boasted of destroying Church personnel records.

Recently at the Victorian parliamentary inquiry into child sex abuse, the CEO of Catholic Church insurance, Peter Rush, said CCI officers remained independent of the underlying process.

Steve Cannane has this exclusive report, produced by Sashka Koloff.

STEVE CANNANE, REPORTER: Catholic Church insurance was set up in 1911 to insure Church properties against fire.

But in recent years, responding to claims of child sexual abuse has become a part of their core business.

PETER RUSH, CEO, CATHOLIC CHURCH INSURANCE: In Victoria, CCI has paid compensation and the cost of counselling to about 600 victims for a total cost of about $30 million.

STEVE CANNANE: But Catholic Church insurance hasn't just been writing the cheques.

From day one, CCI representatives sat on the Church committee that designed its response to clerical sexual abuse, Towards Healing.

Tonight a consultant to that committee is speaking out. He says Catholic Church insurance dictated the Church's response.

ROBERT GRANT, PYSCHOLOGIST: When I came into the process somewhere in '96-'97, Catholic Insurance was at every meeting. They either had one or two of their senior representatives and/or a lawyer at each of the meetings that I attended. ... They would object to any language that was used in the Towards Healing document that would put the Church at risk in terms of admitting culpability. ... At first I thought maybe they were there to advise the Church about the risk of taking certain pastoral stances, but I began to realise quite quickly that they were actually dictating policy.

STEVE CANNANE: Robert Grant is a psychologist who specialises in abuse and trauma. His books, Preying Upon the Faithful and The Way of the Wound, deal with clerical abuse.

He's worked with the Catholic Church on sexual abuse issues in seven countries.

Robert Grant says he was shocked by the reaction to a presentation he made to the committee that set up Towards Healing.

ROBERT GRANT: I thought I made a very convincing argument that in the long term it would be much better to be transparent and honest, not just from a financial and a legal point of view, but also to restore the reputation of the Church as a representative of God. And after I made this long presentation, which no-one I believe interrupted me or made a comment, a senior official at CCI stood up immediately after and said, "Oh, I need to remind the members of the committee that I just destroyed 40 boxes of personnel records." And I was shocked. I was dumbfounded. Not only the timing - I realised it was a statement to me how things were gonna be run, but I was even more shocked that nobody on the committee saw any contradiction between what I had just said and what this senior CCI official had said.

STEVE CANNANE: Catholic Church Insurance declined to be interviewed.

Peter Rush, who joined CCI as a manager in 1998 before becoming CEO in 2009, responded via email.

PETER RUSH, CEO, CATHOLIC CHURCH INSURANCE (email, male voiceover): "I have no knowledge of Mr Grant, the comment attributed to "a senior official of CCI" or of the alleged destruction of personnel records ... and I do not accept that any senior officer of CCI would have engaged in the inappropriate destruction of documents."

STEVE CANNANE: Sister Angela Ryan, a former committee member, has told Lateline she has no recollection of the incident described by Robert Grant. She also rejects that CII were dictating policy, but declined to be interviewed.

The strong links between Catholic Church Insurance and the Towards Healing process are indisputable.

CCI's CEO Peter Rush and one of its directors, Sister Clare Condon, both sit on the National Committee for Professional Standards, the body that oversees Towards Healing. Sister Angela Ryan was a committee member while also a director of Catholic Church Insurance. Laurie Rolls, a long-term committee member, is the special projects manager at CCI.

And then there's Father Brian Lucas, who recently faced questions at the special inquiry in Newcastle over why he failed to take evidence of child abuse to police.

JOURNALIST: Father Lucas, it's quite extraordinary that you don't remember any of your dealings with McAlinden ...

BRIAN LUCAS, CATHOLIC FATHER: I think it's best that we talk about this when it's all over, rather than talk about it now.

STEVE CANNANE: Back in the 1990s when he was dealing with paedophile priests like Denis McAlinden, Father Lucas was also a member of the committee that oversaw Towards Healing.

In 2002 he became general secretary of the Bishops Conference, and a year later, a director of Catholic Church Insurance. The Bishops Conference receives dividends from Catholic Church Insurance and oversees the committee. The committee itself is part-funded by the insurance company.

Catholic Church Insurance is a charitable institution exempt from income tax. It's 100 per cent Church-owned. If the insurer makes a profit, the Church profits.

CCI says its returned over a quarter of a billion dollars to the Church in the past 34 years.

It's role, it says, is, "... to protect the interests of the church community and to return any surplus back to that community ...".

Lawyer Jason Parkinson says this is a conflict of interest.

JASON PARKINSON, PRINCIPAL, PORTERS LAWYERS: Oh, definitely a conflict of interest. They are profiting from the money that they've saved by not paying proper damages to victims of child sexual abuse.

STEVE CANNANE: Jason Parkinson has represented hundreds of clerical abuse victims. He says through Towards Healing, the Church has used a range of tactics to minimise payouts to victims.

JASON PARKINSON: They've been told that to the knowledge of Towards Healing that they're never heard of that alleged abuser before, when in fact Towards Healing has made payments in regard to that actual abuser previously. They are told that they will never be able to sue the Catholic Church because their abuse occurred too many years ago. That's not true. They're also told that they needn't get a solicitor to advise them because they'll just keep it between themselves.

STEVE CANNANE: At a recent Victorian inquiry, the CEO of Catholic Church Insurance was keen to point out that their staff were removed from the Towards Healing process.

PETER RUSH: In all matters referred to Catholic Church Insurance, our officers remain independent of the underlying process.

STEVE CANNANE: But this file note written for CCI and Church lawyers and obtained by Lateline shows a lawyer acting for Catholic Church Insurance directly involved in the Towards Healing meetings with victims.

(female voiceover): "On behalf of CCI Paul Gamble offered $20,000, then $30,000 and finally $40,000 plus legal fees. Ian was very hesitant to accept this offer, and asked to speak to Brother Peter without the lawyers ... Brother Peter indicated to Ian that he should accept the offer."

STEVE CANNANE: Another key insider in the Towards Healing process has told Lateline it was common for CCI lawyers to be either in the room or the room next door while clergy met with victims.

JASON PARKINSON: And they invite victims of child sexual abuse who are suffering from psychiatric injuries to come to Towards Healing where they give the illusion that you're dealing with a brother from the Church or one of the nuns, when in fact they're acting as agents of Catholic Church Insurance.

STEVE CANNANE: Robert Grant says as he watched the Church committee debate what went into the Towards Healing protocols, the perspective of victims was missing.

ROBERT GRANT: Quite to my amazement, but this consistent in other places around the world at this high level, I never heard victims talked about. I never heard victims being - people being concerned about the well-being of victims or how the document would affect victims. I heard more about Church liability and also I heard about priests that were victims. There was talk about priests that were being unjustly accused. I'd hear this every so often, but I hardly ever heard - and I even brought up a couple of times, "Aren't we missing sorta the whole population that this document is designed for, which is the victims?" But that again was not picked up or developed, at least during my tenure.

STEVE CANNANE: Steve Cannane, Lateline.

TONY JONES: Catholic Church Insurance and the Australian Bishops Conference declined requests for interviews. Lateline approached 12 past and present members of the National Committee for Professional Standards including Father Brian Lucas, Bishop Geoffrey Robinson and CCI's CEO Peter Rush. All declined to be interviewed.

Well you can read a full response to Lateline's questions to CCI CEO Peter Rush below.

Email questions to Peter Rush CEO of Catholic Church Insurance

Robert Grant has told Lateline, “When I came into the process somewhere in 96/97 CCI was at every meeting they either had one or two of their senior representatives and or a lawyer at each of the meetings I attended.” What is your response?

As a member of the NCPS, it is likely that a representative of CCI attended such meetings. We have nothing to indicate the presence of lawyers.

Mr Grant further alleges that, “They (CCI) would object to any language that was used in the towards healing document that would put the church at risk in terms of admitting culpability.” What is your response?

We don’t have anything in our minutes or on the record that attests to conversation around language with regard to legal culpability. What we do have is a final document that does not refer to legal process rather it describes the principals and procedure of a pastoral process that puts the interest of victims first.

Mr Grant also said that, “ At first I thought maybe they (CCI) were there to advise the church about the risk of taking certain pastoral stances but I began to realise quite quickly that they were dictating policy.” What is your response?

That is incorrect. CCI were part of the committee of the NCPS and the Towards Healing protocol was the product of that committee, without directive by CCI.

We would also like to clarify how dividends from shareholdings are distributed. We have been told that 50% of dividends are distributed to the Bishop’s Conference, and 50% to the orders. Is this correct?

No, that is not correct. CCI distributes dividends in accordance with the shareholdings held by the various entities who are shareholders. There are approximately 90 different shareholders.

In CCI’s 2012 financial report is says that in the financial year ending 30 June 2012 “... the Directors recommend the payment of a final unfranked dividend of $1.176M to the holders of fully paid ordinary shares.” In your previous email you said that Directors hold “ordinary shares” in trust for the Australian Episcopal Conference. How much of this $1.176M was distributed to Directors?

Nothing, each director holds a small parcel of shares on behalf of the Australian Episcopal Conference and their dividends are paid to that Conference.

In 1996/97 an American psychologist Robert Grant addressed the NCPS about the need to pursue a pastoral rather than legalistic approach to victims of sexual abuse under Towards Healing. We have been told that straight after his presentation a senior official from CCI stood up and said “I need to remind the members of the committee that I just destroyed 40 boxes of personnel records.” What is your response?

I have no knowledge of Mr Grant, the comment attributed to “a senior official of CCI” or of the alleged destruction of personnel records. I would be happy to review the matter further with more information, e.g. a copy of the document that the comments appeared in. It is not clear why CCI would have been holding 40 boxes of personnel records relating to sexual abuse and I do not accept that any senior officer of CCI would have engaged in the inappropriate destruction of documents.

Has CCI ever had access to clergy and religious personnel records?

Occasionally, in the assessment of individual claims made against the company, representatives of CCI have access to personnel records of clergy and religious persons. We do not retain copies of these personnel files.

Has CCI ever been involved in destroying or facilitating the destruction of personnel records? If so, please explain the circumstances.

CCI manages the records of our own personnel in accordance with established HR guidelines and protocols. To the best of my knowledge, CCI has never been involved in destroying or facilitating the destruction of the personnel records of clergy and religious persons.

We understand that some CCI personnel are members of the NCPS. Can you please provide us with the names, and dates of tenure, of CCI representatives who have been members of the NCPS since its inception.

CCI has had a representative on the National Committee for Professional Standards since its inception. That person is the general manager / CEO of the day or his or her delegate.

During your appearance at the recent Victorian Inquiry you said that CCI has paid compensation and cost of counselling to about 600 victims for a total cost of about $30 million. Over how many years is that? Further, do you have a national figure for that same time period?

This information is commercial in confidence. As and when required, this information will be released to a relevant authority, e.g. the Royal Commission.

How do the payouts for sexual abuse over the last five years compare to the payouts for fire damage over the same time period?See 6 above.

In an interview available online, you said that CCI is “... one of only two or three Catholic Church own insurance companies in the world.” Can you confirm that this is correct, and how many Catholic Church owned insurance companies there are in the world, including CCI?

Yes, that is correct. To the best of my knowledge, there is one in the USA, Ireland, UK and I also understand Italy.

In our previous email, we asked you who CCI’s Special Project Manager is and how long they have held this position. Could you please respond.

This position was established about 15 years ago.

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